Cliffs Notes says that pyruvate can make potentially 15 ATP...I don't get where this is coming from.
Pyruvate?
- Thread starter Strag
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As you know pyruvate is the end product of glycolysis. Glycolysis results in the net production of 2 ATP (2 ATP invested/4 returned) and also 2 NADH molecules. Usually NADH molecules can make 3 ATP molecules by oxidative phophorylation, but for some reason the 2 NADH molecules made by glocolysis can only make 2 ATP each resulting in 4 total ATP (I don't know why only 2 for these NADH just know it).
So after glycolysis you have 6 total ATP per glucose molecule. Since there are 36 ATP total made from the breakdown of a glucose molecule, this leaves 30 ATP left. And since there are 2 pyruvate molecules made from 1 glucose molecule, this means that 30/2= 15 ATP can be produced by each pyruvate individually.
So after glycolysis you have 6 total ATP per glucose molecule. Since there are 36 ATP total made from the breakdown of a glucose molecule, this leaves 30 ATP left. And since there are 2 pyruvate molecules made from 1 glucose molecule, this means that 30/2= 15 ATP can be produced by each pyruvate individually.
The 4 ATP from the NADH made from glycolysis....the NADHs have to cross from the cytoplasm to the mitochondria and thus lose energy. That's why the NADHs made from glycolysis generate only 4 instead of 6.
The 36 ATP total is from a molecule of glucose to the reduction to CO2 and stuff. The question is asking from pyruvate to CO2 and end products. Since 6 ATP's are released going from glucose to pyruvate, this means that from pyruvate to end products would release 30 ATP. So you divide that by 2 and not 36.
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